A lot of hearing care professionals offer free hearing tests to new patients. It’s an appealing offer – why pay for something you can get for free? But, as the old saying goes, there is no such thing as a free lunch. And there is no such thing as a free hearing test.
Why Offer Free Testing?
Whenever someone gives something for free, they have to make the money up somewhere else. Otherwise they wouldn’t be able to stay in business very long just offering free products and services. Hearing aid specialists and big box retailers usually don’t charge for hearing tests because they don’t have credentials to bill insurance for testing, so they don’t have to “make up” the cost. They do it already by default. But why do audiologists offer free testing?
A free hearing test is a ploy used by some in our field. It helps to bring in patients by offering something free up front. But, as I said earlier, the money has to be made up somewhere. So where does an audiologist make up the cost for free testing? You usually end up paying for it when you buy hearing aids.
Why We Don’t Do It
Hearing aids are usually an out-of-pocket expense. So when hearing care professionals charge you more for hearing aids to make up for free testing, they’re passing expenses on to you. But when they charge you for a hearing test, like we do, your health insurance usually covers that cost. Since your insurance picks up the testing, we can charge less for the out-of-pocket expense: your hearing aids.
That’s why we charge for diagnostic hearing tests. We believe in honesty and transparency. And we believe in helping you get the most out of your insurance coverage. A free hearing test would be contrary to those principles that guide our conduct as medical professionals and it would increase your out-of-pocket costs.
What We Do Instead
You can get your hearing screened for free at Link Audiology. Hearing screening is a free service that we offer so you can see whether a full hearing test is needed. If you’re on the fence about getting a diagnostic hearing test, this might be a good option for you. Basically, it’s checking to see whether you can hear sounds presented at the high end of the normal range. And if the hearing screening shows a potentially decreased ability to hear, we can usually bill the full test to your insurance.
So come to Link Audiology, where we provide honest hearing care for the entire family!
